12.09.2010 11:58
Barça return to training
Marc Guillén / Jordi Clos
FC Barcelona's players returned to training on Sunday morning as the focus turned from the Hércules reverse to the opening Champions League game against Pananthinaikos in midweek.
Pep Guardiola assured after the first defeat of the season that squad would lift themselves back up
and that process began on Sunday morning at the Ciutat Esportiva as the attention turned to Europe.
The coaching staff organised a physical session to keep the players feeling fresh.
Two groups
At 1100 the 18 players available took to the pitch and split into two
groups. The stars that played for more than 45 minutes against Hércules did some recovery work with
Gerard Piqué and Maxwell among them, despite the former requiring six stitches and the latter
suffering a wrist injury in the game.
The rest of the squad began with the usual warm-up exercises which were
followed by physical circuits. Jonathan dos Santos, Planas, Abraham, Masip and Víctor Vázquez, none
of whom played against Cartagena, joined them from the B team ranks to make up the numbers when a
five-a-side game was organised. Jeffren continued working on his own recovery programme.
Training was carried out using the Champions League ball as the players look to become
accustomed to it before they take on Panathinaikos on Tuesday in Camp Nou.